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Toro Rosso director says rookie Albon exceeded my expectations

Toro Rosso director says rookie Albon "exceeded my expectations"

22-02-2019 13:55
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Jake Williams-Smith

Toro Rosso rookie Alexander Albon has exceeded expectations in the opening week of Formula One testing according to deputy technical director Jody Egginton.

The Anglo-Thai driver had not driven a Formula One car prior to the test and the team's shakedown in Misano a few days prior but he has impressed in his first week in the cockpit.

Albon may have had an embarrassing spin on his opening lap in the STR14 but he went on to record the second fastest lap time of the week with only Nico Hulkenberg's day four effort eclipsing his 1:17.637s benchmark.

Despite his inexperience in the world of Formula One, his lack of time in the car does not seem to be holding him back with technical director Egginton praising his work in and out of the car so far.

"On the filming day he did a good job getting in and here he’s been fantastic," Egginton is quoted by Motorsport Week.

"The install off [spin] was partly engineering induced, it wasn’t directly his fault to be fair, after that he got into the programme and he’s been great. 

"Toro Rosso are familiar with young drivers. His progress in places where he was quick initially and not quick enough are exactly as you’d expect. 

"But by the end of the day he’d ticked every box and on some of his long runs, especially on the C2 compound, he did a really good job, we’re really pleased with him, a fantastic approach, and he’s exceeded my expectations.

"The engineers are pleased, we’re really excited to be working with him. He hadn’t done much running, only a bit at Misano, before here, but he’s been really good so far, we’re happy and impressed. 

"It’s one of the nice things about Toro Rosso, working with the young drivers, and moving them forward. He’s on a steep learning curve but the young drivers’ capacity to learn quickly and move forward is really impressive, so far we’re happy."